Scrumptious Scones

I can't get the uploading to work for pictures to edit my last post, but I just typed out a recipe for delicious scones that I thought I'd share. This is our family's favorite recipe for them...we use a chocolate chip/craisin mixture instead of the currants that are called for. I don't know how this would be if you substituted some of the white flour for whole wheat, but they're so good this way, I've been hesitant to try!

I pretty much follow the recipe, but probably only used one egg b/c of Chris' allergy and then don't really measure the chocolate chip/craisin mixture...just go by what looks good. I also usually add some flax seed which probably doesn't affect the taste at all. :)

Scones
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, cut into pieces
2 beaten eggs
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup dried currants or snipped raisins
milk
sugar
1. In a medium bowl combine flour, the 2tablespoons sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in center of flour mixture, set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, whipping cream, and currants. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Using a fork, stir just until moistened.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough by folding and gently pressing dough for 10-12 strokes or until dough is nearly smooth. Pat or lightly roll dough into an 8 inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges.
4. Place wedges 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush wedges with milk and sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 12-14 minutes or until golden. Remove scones from baking sheet; serve warm.
Makes 8 large scones or 16 smaller ones.

Long Time No Blog

I guess I took a break from blogging this summer! For some reason it just seemed to fly by this year and now it is already the end of September. My computer went down in June and then with switching things over to a new computer combined with feeling a little under the weather due to our 2nd pregnancy toward the end of the summer, blogging got put on the back burner. Here are some highlights!

A vacation in Wisconsin on Lake Michigan. Jensen loved throwing stones into the lake, playing in the sand and loved all the attention she got from her grandparents, aunts and uncles. She also LOVED collecting the rocks on the beach as evidenced by the seashore rocks we now have in our home! It was definitely fun for us to be near the water.

Can she be 2?

Sidewalk Paint

I was inspired by a friend's blog post about fun for $1. This activity was definitely less than one dollar! Fill a bucket with water and give Jensen some sort of brush and let her have at the driveway to paint her masterpiece! This kept her so busy that I had time to weed the front flower beds. She cried when we had to come in. Better than sidewalk chalk because we didn't need the rain to wash it away! :) Oh how I love weather that allows us to spend time like this outside!

Ever Heard of Groupon?

My friend Kathy just told me about Groupon. If you sign up, they send you one email per day about a resturant or service in your area. You can buy a gift certificate for a significant savings on the regular price. Kathy's kids got her a spa day at the Conrad for around $100 which the normal price would have been around $400. I've also seen signficant savings on museum admissions, sandwiches at resturants, etc. Go here http://www.groupon.com/r/uu2167232 to check it out.

Spring Pictures

Father Daughter Camping

Chris had a great time taking Jensen on her first camping trip! Maybe it wasn't really a trip since it was only a block away in our friend's backyard, but she didn't know the difference. They had a fire, set up tents, played many rounds of ring-around-the-rosy (the girls did, at least) and one of the dads made breakfast for everyone in the morning. Chris said it took Jensen a bit to realize that the tent was for sleeping and not playing and even then she probably only slept about 4-5 hours (a little short of her normal 10-12 hours), but they still made it the whole night and were both happy the next day! Chris said he thinks he's ready to head to McCormick's Creek. :)

Project Number 2!

This week's project at Lowes was a bird feeder. While I went to a MOPS sale, Chris and Jensen made a quick trip over to Lowes. Did I tell you that she can now say Lowes? She loves it...looking at the tractors, flowers, etc. We also now have green beans growing in her planter. She loves building with her hammer..just like Daddy. :)

Happy Birthday Oma!

This would be much better in person, but Jensen wanted to wish Oma a very happy birthday! We hope you had a wonderful day! Happy Birthday to you! We love you!

Toddler Fun

My pile of shirts for Goodwill ended up being a challenge for Jensen to see how many shirts a toddler can actually wear. I threw in the fingerpainting pictures just for fun...it's an activity that she can't get enough of, but Mommy does!

Almost Done!

This is what Chris was working on while I helped Jensen build her planter. It looks GREAT from the inside and out. Chris has done a fantastic job on this new office...it's been a little bit of a job since everything was custom, but I think it was worth it! Just a few more things to complete before we can enjoy it as a real room in our house! So far Jensen has done pretty well staying out of it...we'll see when Daddy's hanging out in there and shuts the door!

Lowes Freebie

If you have kids you have to go to Lowes on certain Saturday mornings...though maybe everyone knew about this except me? Chris took Jensen last Saturday while I got my haircut and happened to find that on different Saturday mornings they have crafts that they give away for free to the first 50 kids who get there by 10. You can build it there with your child or, they let Chris take a mesh bag filled with the goodies home build. It also came with a little Lowes smock to wear and a patch to put on it for this project. This week was a small see through planter. Unfortunatly for Jensen, Mommy was the one who had time to help her so it took a bit longer than it should have I'm afraid. We are enjoying watching the seeds grow now that it's completed though! She also learned the word "dirt" ("durt" in Jensen language). Next week...a bird feeder. We'll see if we make it!